Manchester United share price plummets as club announces player spending in "near term"

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The Glazer family at Manchester United's IPO in 2012 (Source: Getty)

Manchester United’s share price plummeted by over nine per cent on the US stock exchange this morning, after Edward Glazer put 3m of his shares up for sale and the club confirmed further spending on players in the “near term”.

After markets in the US closed yesterday Edward Glazer, one of Malcolm Glazer’s six children who inherited a split of the former owner’s shares when following his death in May, announced he was looking to cash in by selling the two per cent stake in the club.

United’s share price stood at $16.43 per share last night, but opened at a price of $14.87 per share on the New York Stock Exchange this morning.

Edward Glazer stands to make around $45m from the share issue, which is the Glazers’ second mass-sale of shares this year, after 8m shares were sold in August.

In total, the Glazers have sold around 17 per cent of Manchester United since the Premier League giants became a publicly listed company.

However, while United’s controversial owners now have less than 85 per cent of the total shares, they own 95 per cent of Class B shares which contain voting rights.

In contrast to today’s tanking, the club’s share price has remained relatively stable following previous share issues.

In a share prospectus for the latest sale, United said they expect to see further spending on players in the January transfer window.

The club state:

To maintain our high standard of performance we anticipate a higher level of net player capital expenditures and player wages to retain talent and enhance the caliber of our team in the near term